Consumers in the US were surprised in Oct., 2009, by the 1st of a series of highly publicized recalls of Toyota vehicles. It began with 3.8 million cars brought back for uncontrolled acceleration. Over the next 4 months, 3.4 million more recalls followed for gas pedal and software glitches. Then from Feb.-Aug., 2010, 13 more recalls followed. Just as things seemed to be settling down, 2 more recalls were announced in Jan.-Feb., 2011. The total had now reached 20 million vehicles!
How could this happen to the company that shaped the modern approach to quality improvement, asks UC-Berkeley Prof. 
One factor Cole found was a “reverse halo effect”. Toyota buyers in 2010 had heard a barrage of negative news and became far less forgiving about minor quality flaws than previous owners. A 2nd factor was that competitors’ products were improving to the point that Toyota didn’t look as outstanding by comparison as it had in the past.
Cole’s analysis found 2 root causes for Toyota’s problems: (1)management’s ambitious plans for rapid growth (which did not focus on quality issues already arising), and (2) the increasing complexity of the actual auto product.
I think this is an article that you will enjoy reading and that you will be able to use in your OM class.